Dry heat, wind boosting wildfire hazard

By DOUG McDONOUGH dmcdonough@hearstnp.com

Published 11:01 am, Wednesday, March 2, 2016

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Dry heat, wind boosting wildfire hazard

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Although drought conditions eased somewhat for Texas in general, unseasonably high temperatures combined with stout winds and little rain are prompting both National Weather Service forecasters and public safety officials to warn of the growing hazard for wildfires.

The NWS hoisted a Red Flag Warning early Wednesday, and it remained in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday. The warning area included Parmer, Castro, Swisher, Bailey, Lamb and Hale counties, and was the result of 20-foot winds of 20 mph or more, relative humilities of 15 percent or less, and a high wind fire damage.

The warning statement notes that southwest to west winds on Wednesday afternoon were sustained at 20-30 mph with stronger gusts, humidity levels had bottomed out at about 10 percent, fuels were dry, and any fires that develop could spread rapidly. As a result, outdoor burning was being discouraged.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, the mercury was sitting at 83 degrees in Plainview. That was a single digit below the record high for that date of 84, set in 1967.

The Texas High Plains, forecasters note, is currently on a temperature rollercoaster.

A cold front, they say, will move through on Thursday, ushering in cooler temperatures. However, southwesterly winds on Friday will bring warm air back with highs in the 80s.

Another cold front for Saturday is expected to take highs back down into the upper 60s and lower 70s. And there’s no rain in the forecast . . . yet.

In its weekly drought report, the Texas Water Development Board noted that recent rains completely rubbed out drought conditions in Central Texas; however, moderate drought increased in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi areas.

Statewide, drought conditions decreased from 3.6 percent last week to 0.8 percent of the state this week. More rain is expected over the next week in the northwestern part of the state.

The entire Herald circulation area continues to be in an adequate soil moisture zone. The closest counties suffering from abnormally dry conditions are Potter, Randall and Deaf Smith counties.

In general, according to the TWDB report, the crop moisture index for Texas as of Feb. 20 “is like a perfect bowl of porridge -- not too wet; not too dry.”